{"id":109021,"date":"2026-10-26T13:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T13:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/26\/business-model-canvas\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T13:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T13:15:27","slug":"business-model-canvas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/blog\/2026\/10\/26\/business-model-canvas\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Model Canvas: what it is, its 9 building blocks and a free template"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Could you explain your business on a single page? Who you sell to, what you offer them, how they find you and where the money comes from. If you find it hard, you’re not alone.<\/p>\n\n

That’s what the Business Model Canvas<\/strong> is for. It’s a visual tool that lays out your whole business on one page, and it has become the most widely used way to design or review a business model.<\/p>\n\n

The Business Model Canvas is a one-page template that describes how a company creates, delivers and captures value, divided into nine building blocks.<\/strong> Those blocks range from customers to costs, covering the value proposition, channels and revenue along the way.<\/p>\n\n

In this guide you’ll see what it is, how to fill in each block, a complete example and a free PDF template to create your own.<\/p>\n\n\n

What the Business Model Canvas is and who created it<\/h2>\n\n

The Business Model Canvas was created by Alexander Osterwalder. It grew out of Osterwalder’s 2004 doctoral thesis at the University of Lausanne, supervised by Yves Pigneur.<\/p>\n\n

The tool became popular in 2010 with the book Business Model Generation<\/em>, which the two of them wrote together with hundreds of contributors from dozens of countries.<\/p>\n\n

Since then it has been used in business schools, incubators and companies of all sizes.<\/p>\n\n

It goes by several names: the Canvas model, the business model canvas or, in its original form, Business Model Canvas<\/em>. They all refer to the same thing.<\/p>\n\n

What the Business Model Canvas is for<\/h2>\n\n

The Business Model Canvas isn’t just for people starting out. It’s useful in four different situations:<\/p>\n\n

To launch a business.<\/strong> It forces you to think everything through before investing: who will buy, how much they’ll pay and how much it will cost you to reach them.<\/p>\n\n

To review one that’s already up and running.<\/strong> Over the years, businesses change and sometimes nobody writes it down. The canvas shows you what has changed and what no longer fits.<\/p>\n\n

To compare alternatives.<\/strong> You can create two canvases, one per option, and see which one makes more sense. It’s useful before a product launch<\/a> or before entering a new market.<\/p>\n\n

To explain your business.<\/strong> To a partner, an investor or your own team. A single page is easier to understand than a long document.<\/p>\n\n

In every case, the canvas is part of strategic marketing<\/a>: first you decide what kind of business you want to be, and then how to communicate it.<\/p>\n\n

Its big advantage is the overall picture.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Instead of a fifty-page document, you have your entire business model<\/a> on one page. And you can see at a glance how a change in one block affects the others.<\/p>\n\n

The 9 building blocks of the Business Model Canvas<\/h2>\n\n

The canvas is divided into nine building blocks. The right-hand side is about your customers. The left-hand side is about how your company works on the inside. And in the middle is your value proposition, which connects the two.<\/p>\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n

Let’s go through each block with the question you need to answer.<\/p>\n\n

1. Customer segments<\/h3>\n\n

Who are you creating value for?<\/strong> This is where you define the groups of people or companies you’re targeting. There can be one or several, and each one may need something different.<\/p>\n\n

The more specific you are, the better. Defining your target<\/a> and creating a buyer persona<\/a> for each segment will help.<\/p>\n\n

2. Value proposition<\/h3>\n\n

What problem do you solve and why would they choose you?<\/strong> This is the heart of the canvas. Describe what you offer each segment and your competitive advantage<\/a> over other options.<\/p>\n\n

If you struggle to sum it up in one sentence, start with your USP<\/a>, your unique selling proposition.<\/p>\n\n

3. Channels<\/h3>\n\n

How do you reach your customers?<\/strong> This includes how they find out about you, how they buy and how they receive the product. A physical store, a website, a marketplace or a newsletter are all channels.<\/p>\n\n

Also review your distribution channels<\/a>: they don’t all cost the same or reach each segment equally well.<\/p>\n\n

4. Customer relationships<\/h3>\n\n

What kind of relationship do your customers expect?<\/strong> It can be personal, automated, self-service or community-based.<\/p>\n\n

This block is often left half-finished. Yet it carries a lot of weight in customer loyalty<\/a>, because keeping a customer costs less than acquiring a new one.<\/p>\n\n

5. Revenue streams<\/h3>\n\n

What are your customers willing to pay for, and how do they pay?<\/strong> One-off sales, subscriptions, commissions, advertising or licensing are different revenue streams.<\/p>\n\n

Also note down the price<\/a> of each one and how much it contributes to the total.<\/p>\n\n

6. Key resources<\/h3>\n\n

What do you need to make everything work?<\/strong> They can be physical, intellectual, human or financial resources: a warehouse, a brand, a team or a line of credit.<\/p>\n\n

7. Key activities<\/h3>\n\n

What do you absolutely have to do well?<\/strong> Manufacturing, selling, providing support, developing software or running a platform, depending on your business.<\/p>\n\n

8. Key partners<\/h3>\n\n

Who do you team up with?<\/strong> Suppliers, distributors, partner companies or outside services that do what you can’t or don’t want to do.<\/p>\n\n

9. Cost structure<\/h3>\n\n

What are your most important costs?<\/strong> They come from your resources, activities and partners.<\/p>\n\n

Compare them with what each customer brings in over time, their lifetime value<\/a>. Also include what it costs you to acquire each customer, the acquisition cost<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

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Fill your channels block with a channel you own<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create your newsletter and send up to 80,000 emails a month for free with Mailrelay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Create a free account<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

How to create your Business Model Canvas in 6 steps<\/h2>\n\n

Now you know the blocks. Time to fill them in. These six steps will help you do it in an hour or two.<\/p>\n\n

Step 1: print or open the template<\/h3>\n\n

Use the PDF template from this article or draw the canvas on a whiteboard. What matters is seeing all nine blocks at once.<\/p>\n\n

Step 2: start with your customers<\/h3>\n\n

Fill in the right-hand side first: segments, value proposition, channels and relationships. Without clear customers, the rest of the canvas makes no sense.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Step 3: move on to revenue<\/h3>\n\n

Write down how and how much your customers pay. If a segment pays nothing, explain how you fund it.<\/p>\n\n

Step 4: complete the left-hand side<\/h3>\n\n

Resources, activities, partners and costs. Ask yourself what you need to deliver what you promise on the right-hand side.<\/p>\n\n

Step 5: use sticky notes<\/h3>\n\n

Write one idea per note. That way you can move, change or throw them away without redoing the whole canvas.<\/p>\n\n

Step 6: validate and review<\/h3>\n\n

A canvas is made of hypotheses, not certainties. Test each block against real data and review it every few months or whenever something important changes. For example, when your product moves into another stage of its life cycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Free Business Model Canvas PDF template<\/h2>\n\n

Here’s a PDF template ready to fill in on your computer or print out. It has three pages:<\/p>\n\n